December 22, 2024

A Little Hope

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

Well it’s safe to say we’ve probably never met
Even still if a betting man was I I’d bet
Every single one of us have found ourselves
Standing in the storms of life soaking wet

But do not fret, chin up my friend
A little bit of rain is not how this thing ends
But sometimes we forget so if you understand
Let me see those hands, ’cause

Everybody needs a little hope
You know the kind that turns your grey skies blue
A little something that’ll pull you through
Well good news that something’s living right inside of you

Yeah Hope
It makes you smile when world says don’t
It keeps you dancing even when life won’t
And when the music’s gone keep singing
‘Cause what you’ve got is hope

Now maybe you’re thinking ‘yeah, nice try’
But you do not know me you don’t know the things I hide
Well I’ve walked that road and I’ve felt that pain
We are all the same

Come and you’ll find rest
This hope is bigger than your regrets
Bring your worst
Bring your best
And all God’s people said 

MercyMe
Written by Bart Millard, Christopher Stevens, & Bryan Fowler

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   *

Now may the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace
as you believe in Him
so that you may overflow with hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 HCSB

My soul, wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.
Psalm 62:5 NASB

Christ Jesus, our Hope
1 Timothy 1:1a NASB

This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls….
Hebrews 6:19 NLT

“Everybody needs a little hope.”

Now, isn’t that the truth?  I don’t know about y’all, but I need hope even when things are going well.  Hope keeps me moving forward.  Hope lifts my spirits. But, I have to check the source of my hope.  We can put our hope in a job, a relationship, a new home, new clothes, etc.  These things can give us hope, but it is only fleeting.  There is only one true source of —Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 1:1). God alone is the Author of our hope.   The only way we are continually filled with His hope is through the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13). Because of the Holy Spirit, Hope is living right inside of us!

I love how Hebrews 6:19 describes hope— ‘a strong and trustworthy anchor’.  I picture a small boat being rocked by huge waves, tossed to & fro by strong winds, held firmly in place by an anchor.   When we are tossed about by life’s struggles, when circumstances threaten to overwhelm us, our Almighty Anchor of Hope holds our souls firmly in place.  That Anchor of Hope will pull us through the trials and tragedies of this life.  That is enough to make me:

smile when the world says “don’t”
keep dancing even when life won’t
keep singing when the music is gone

(He’ll) Finish What He Started

psalmshymnsspiritualsongskjv

I don’t have to know you 
To know that you will go through 
Hard times 
It’s just part of life 

Don’t let that moment blind you
Don’t let it define you 
Take heart
That’s not who you are 

Our God is able
More than capable 
To be faithful 
Until the end 
He’ll finish what He started 

No matter what you’ve done 
Grace comes like a flood 
There’s hope to carry on 
He’ll finish what He started 
No matter what you face 
His mercy will not change 
He’s with you all the way 
He’ll finish what He started 

Remember you’re forgiven
So there’s no need to give in
To the lie 
That you’re disqualified 

Our God is able
More than capable 
To be faithful 
Until the end 
He’ll finish what He started 

No matter what you’ve done 
Grace comes like a flood 
There’s hope to carry on 
He’ll finish what He started 
No matter what you face 
His mercy will not change 
He’s with you all the way 
He’ll finish what He started 

This work He started in you now
He’s faithful to complete it 
The promise was sealed when He cried out
It is finished 

He’ll finish what He started 

No matter what you’ve done 
Grace comes like a flood 
There’s hope to carry on 
He’ll finish what He started 
No matter what you face 
His mercy will not change 
He’s with you all the way 
He’ll finish what He started 

~  Listen while you read!  ~

~  Singer/Songwriter: Bart Millard; Performed with MercyMe  ~

Let’s pray first, ok?

Dear Lord, how thankful to KNOW beyond a shadow of doubt that You will finish what You have started…in each of us!

Lord, I pray for my sisters—Your darling daughters—asking that You build a confidence in each of their hearts so that they can sing out with me, “No matter what <I> face…His mercy will not change… He’s with <me> all the way… He’ll finish what He started!!! ”  I pray, Father, that they will be able to recognize that Your mercy does cover…and that Your grace is enough…and that Your love for them never fails, is unconditional, never-ending, ever-present.

Help them (me, too, Lord!) to remember that You are faithful and always bring to pass every promise of Your Word.  May they be made strong in Your strength while weak in their own.  I pray, from the bottom of my heart, thanking and praising You for all You are doing in them and for them and through them…as You finish what You started.   Thank You, Lord…in Jesus’ name I pray.  Amen.

* ~ ♥ ~ ✞ ~ ♥ ~ *

We have my precious friend, Becky, to thank for this song.  (Ok, not for the actual song…but for our sharing this incredible song together!)  Thank you, Becky!  And, Becky—He’ll finish what He started in you…He promised!  Here’s the promise:

And I am convinced and sure of this very thing,
that He Who began a good work in you
will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return],
developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you.
Philippians 1:6 AMP

Does that not just thrill your heart?!!!?  Oh, it does mine, too!  And why?  Because it is all about HIM!

  • He began
  • He will continue
  • He will develop it
  • He will bring it to full completion!

What joy!  What confidence!  What inspiration!  What hope!

And I do SO love that God will continue it ‘until the day of Jesus Christ’—until our Lord comes back to this earth in all His power and majesty and executes righteousness and judgment everywhere to everyone!  Then His work in us will be totally and completely finished!

But equally I DO so love that all along…right now, and tomorrow, and next week, next month, next year, and right up ‘til we are gathered together in Christ…He will be developing us, and perfecting us, and bringing us along!  This work that He will finish, He is performing that finishing right now!  Jesus fully understands what we are going through!   But yet, in the throes of the temptations and feeling so weak, we can know that mercy and grace will be given to help us in our time of need as He develops and finishes His work in us!

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses,
but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:15 and 16

So do not worry or be anxious!  Do not fret or wonder if your past, your sins, your weaknesses, your faults, frailties, and failures will prevent you from finishing.  Remember, this is God’s work in you and,

Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
1 Thessalonians 5:24

The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, endure forever—
forsake not the works of Your own hands.
Psalm 138:8